Efficient and low cost temperature control is an ongoing endeavor in multiple industries, including the semiconductor manufacture industry. Removal of large quantities of heat over a small area is critical to operation of many electronic devices such as computer microprocessors, isolated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), metal oxide field effect transistors (MOSFETs), thermoelectric devices and diode laser bars.
Since these devices generate a large amount of heat over a very small area, they require liquid cooling to prevent overheating. Traditionally, liquid thermal transfer plates were used in cooling applications. Traditional thermal transfer plates typically include a metal block with internal cooling channels through which a temperature controlled coolant. However, liquid thermal transfer plates tend to be expensive due to the use of meta. Metals such as aluminum and copper are preferred due to their relatively high rates of thermal transfer. Consequently, liquid thermal transfer plates tend to be heavy and expensive.